Isaiah 57
57
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
1#2Ki 22:20; Ps 12:1 The righteous man perishes,
and no man lays it to heart;
and merciful men are taken away
while no one understands,
for the righteous man is taken away
from the evil to come.
2#2Ch 16:14; Eze 32:25 He shall enter into peace;
they shall rest in their beds,
each one walking in his uprightness.
3#Mt 16:4 But draw near to here, you sons of a sorceress,
offspring of an adulterer and prostitute.
4#Ps 35:21; Isa 1:4 Whom do you mock?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
offspring of falsehood,
5#2Ki 16:3–4; Isa 1:29 inflaming yourselves with idols
under every green tree,
slaying the children in the valleys
under the clefts of the rocks?
6#Jer 3:9; 7:18 Among the smooth stones of the stream is your portion;
they are your lot.
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering;
you have offered a grain offering.
Should I relent concerning these things?
7#Eze 16:16; 23:41 On a lofty and high mountain you have set your bed;
even there you went up to offer sacrifice.
8Behind the doors and the doorposts
you have set up your memorial;
far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself;
you have enlarged your bed and made a covenant with them;
you have loved their bed,
you have looked on their nakedness.
9#Eze 23:16 You went to the king with ointment,
and increased your perfumes,
and sent your messengers far off,
and made them go down to Sheol.
10#Jer 2:25; 18:12 You were wearied by the length of your road;
yet you did not say, “There is no hope.”
You have found renewed strength;
therefore, you did not faint.
11#Ps 50:21; Pr 29:25 Of whom were you afraid or fearful
when you lied
and you did not remember Me,
nor give Me a thought?
Have I not held My peace for a long time
so that you do not fear Me?
12#Mic 3:2–4 I will declare your righteousness, and your works,
yet they shall not profit you.
13#Ps 37:9; 37:3 When you cry out,
let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind shall carry them all away,
a breath shall take them away.
But he who puts his trust in Me
shall possess the land
and shall inherit My holy mountain.
Healing for the Contrite
14#Isa 62:10; 40:3And it shall be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
take up every stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15#Ps 34:18; 138:6 For thus says the High and Lofty One
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
I dwell in the high and holy place
and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16#Ps 85:5; Mic 7:18 For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before Me,
and the souls whom I have made.
17#Isa 56:11; Jer 6:13 For the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was wrathful,
and he went on turning away in the way of his heart.
18#Jer 3:22 I have seen his ways but will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
19#Ac 2:39; Heb 13:15 by creating the fruit of the lips.
Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,
says the Lord, and I will heal him.
20#Job 18:5–14; Isa 3:11 But the wicked are like the troubled
sea when it cannot rest,
whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21#Isa 48:22 There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 57: MEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Military Bible Association
Isaiah 57
57
Israel's Idolatry is Condemned
1Good people die, and no one understands or even cares. But when they die, no calamity can hurt them. 2Those who live good lives find peace and rest in death.
3Come here to be judged, you sinners! You are no better than sorcerers, adulterers, and prostitutes. 4Who are you making fun of? Who are you liars jeering at? 5You worship the fertility gods by having sex under those sacred trees of yours. You offer your children as sacrifices in the rocky caves near the bed of a stream. 6You take smooth stones from there and worship them as gods. You pour out wine as offerings to them and bring them grain offerings. Do you think I am pleased with all this? 7You go to the high mountains to offer sacrifices and have sex. 8You set up your obscene idols just inside your front doors. You forsake me; you take off your clothes and climb into your large beds with your lovers, whom you pay to sleep with you. And there you satisfy your lust. 9You put on your perfumes and ointments and go to worship the god Molech. To find gods to worship, you send messengers far and wide, even to the world of the dead. 10You wear yourselves out looking for other gods, but you never give up. You think your obscene idols give you strength, and so you never grow weak.
11The LORD says, “Who are these gods that make you afraid, so that you tell me lies and forget me completely? Have you stopped honouring me because I have kept silent for so long? 12You think that what you do is right, but I will expose your conduct, and your idols will not be able to help you. 13When you cry for help, let those idols of yours save you! A puff of wind will carry them off! But those who trust in me will live in the land and will worship me in my Temple.”
God's Promise of Help and Healing
14The LORD says, “Let my people return to me. Remove every obstacle from their path! Build the road, and make it ready!
15“I am the high and holy God, who lives for ever. I live in a high and holy place, but I also live with people who are humble and repentant, so that I can restore their confidence and hope. 16I gave my people life, and I will not continue to accuse them or be angry with them for ever.#57.16 I gave my people… for ever; or I will not continue to accuse them or be angry with them for ever, for then they would die — the very people to whom I gave life. 17I was angry with them because of their sin and greed, and so I punished them and abandoned them. But they were stubborn and kept on going their own way.
18“I have seen how they acted, but I will heal them. I will lead them and help them, and I will comfort those who mourn. 19#Eph 2.17I offer peace to all, both near and far! I will heal my people. 20But evil people are like the restless sea, whose waves never stop rolling in, bringing filth and muck. 21#Is 48.22There is no safety for sinners,” says the LORD.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.